Are you researching your Irish ancestors? Or were your ancestors part of the Irish diaspora worldwide? Five key things to know before you begin your research. 1. North and South Since 1921, the island of Ireland has been separated into two countries – the Republic of Ireland in the south and Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, in the north. It’s essential to know the distinction between the two before you begin. Northern Irish records are held in the Public Records Office of … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: Preparing for a Heritage Travel Tour in Ireland
Travel experts anticipate that 2022 will be one of the biggest years for traveling than we have seen in years. If you are thinking about traveling out of the country, consider doing a little research to set up a heritage travel tour. A travel tour utilizes an itinerary based on where your ancestors were born and traveled during their lifetimes. Here is some helpful information about preparing for a heritage tour from one of our onsite researchers.The Irish diaspora sent approximately 10 … [Read more...]
Tips to Identify Women in Historical Records
Legacy Tree Genealogists' Jessica Howe specializes in finding unknown ancestors. In this article, we discover some tips for identifying women in historical records by learning how cultural differences worldwide affect names and naming practices.Suppose you have searched for female relatives in online databases. In that case, there is a good chance you've come across an alternate spelling of their name or found that they went by a completely different name throughout different records. Here … [Read more...]
DNA to the Rescue! Solving an Irish Genealogy “Brick Wall”
A case study that demonstrates how to use document evidence in conjunction with DNA evidence to resolve an Irish genealogy "brick wall". *Shared with client permissionResearchers with Irish ancestors have often thrown up their hands in despair when they learn about the massive record loss on that small island. Knowing one’s birthdate or even one’s age was not an Irish cultural value until well into the 20th century, which further complicates Irish research. “Crossing the pond” to document … [Read more...]
Legacy Tree Onsite: 7 Overlooked Irish Genealogy Resources You Should Be Using
Legacy Tree Genealogists works with researchers from across the globe to access records for our clients. We asked one of our researchers located in Cork, Ireland to share an overview of overlooked Irish genealogy resources that you may be missing.Irish genealogy research has a reputation for being difficult, due to the substantial loss of material in the 1922 Public Records Office fire. Fortunately, in recent years this has changed, with many online resources becoming available. When people … [Read more...]
Irish Genealogy Brick Walls: When We Can’t See the Forest for the Irish Trees
Irish genealogy "brick walls" can be daunting, but not impossible to overcome. One of our genealogists shares her advice on extending your Irish family history.The expression “can’t see the forest for the trees,” is used of someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole. As much as we want to be able to quickly climb straight up Irish trees, it is often impossible without leveraging what the rest of the forest has to tell us. This type of research … [Read more...]
Family History Research is a Meaningful Holiday Gift
Are you struggling to come up with meaningful holiday gifts for your loved ones? Consider the gift of heritage!For many of us, the holidays mean family time. We gather together to celebrate lasting traditions and create new ones, drawing closer to the ones we love and strengthening ties with them.Coming up with meaningful gift ideas for our loved ones, however, is a common struggle. What does she like? What would make him happy?Family history projects make unique, personal, and … [Read more...]
Where IS That Record? Clues for Tracing Irish Ancestry
Those who have been involved in tracing their Irish ancestry are aware of the challenge of record loss during the fire at the Four Courts Building in 1922. The good news is that there are still many Irish records which survived. The challenge is to locate them! Depending on the type of record, they were kept—and indexed—using different geographical divisions. It is vital to know specifically where the ancestral family was from in order to locate them in documents of interest.Finding Irish … [Read more...]
Five Steps for Finding that Hard-to-Find Irish Ancestor
Researching Irish ancestry can be notoriously difficult. One of our genealogists shares her expert tips to trace your elusive Irish ancestors.*Case study shared with client permission.A client was looking to trace the ancestry of her Irish great-grandmother, Eliza Kennedy. Eliza was the wife of Thomas Morgan and they had several children, among them the client’s grandfather, Frank. Not much was known about Eliza; an aunt claimed that Eliza was from Cork and told stories about Eliza … [Read more...]
Using Poor Law Records to Find Your Irish Ancestors
Those of us with Irish ancestors know that many of them left Ireland because of the crushing poverty caused by the high rents imposed by absentee landlords, the Great Famine, and a high birth rate among a predominantly Roman Catholic population. While we can’t help but feel sorrow for their circumstances, the very reason those ancestors left Ireland can help us learn more about their lives before their immigration. Two sets of Dublin-based records - Deserted Children Dublin and Dublin Workhouses … [Read more...]